1. Field of the Invention
An object of the invention is a method for the management of a communications module and a device comprising such a module. The field of the invention is that of electronic communications and extension modules for devices such as electronic data management terminals. The term “terminal” is understood to mean a device such as an electronic organizer, electronic personal assistant or even personal computer. The aim of the invention is to increase the autonomy of such a terminal to which a communications module is connected. Another aim of the invention is to standardize a communications interface between a terminal and a communications module
The term “communications module” is understood to mean a device comprising means to set up a connection with another remote device but without any man/machine interface. To illustrate this point, it can be said that a mobile telephone can serve as a communications module when it is used as a modem but that it is not a communications module as understood in the invention.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, there is a known terminal that can be connected to a communications module, for example by a serial link. The communications module may then be a GSM module, the terminal being a personal computer. The GSM module then comprises the means needed to set up an RF link with a base station of a GSM network, as well as a microcircuit card, for example of the SIM or SIM toolkit type. A SIM card is defined by the ISO 7816 standards as well as by the GSM recommendations 1, 2, and 2+. The SIM card is mainly a set of files that can be accessed through standardized commands. A SIM card therefore comprises a set of commands and files that can be accessed according to authentication protocols that ensure the security of the data contained in the files of the SIM card. The difference between a simple SIM card and a SIM toolkit card is that the SIM toolkit card is said to be proactive. This means that it can initiate action on a GSM module or a terminal. A SIM toolkit card therefore does not only respond to outside action. It can also command actions to be performed.
In the prior art, a GSM module cannot work without a SIM card. Indeed, the SIM card contains all the information about a mobile telephony network subscriber. To get connected to a mobile telephony network, the GSM module needs this information. In the prior art, the GSM module and the SIM card are driven by the terminal to which the GSM module is connected. According to the standard, the SIM card receives responses to which it responds. For example, for consulting a file, the SIM card receives several SELECT type instructions to position a reading pointer on the right file. To each of these SELECT instructions, the SIM card sends a response and this response is itself followed by a GET RESPONSE instruction in order to obtain information on the file on which the reading pointer is positioned. In the prior art, all this information flows through the connection between the GSM module and the terminal. Furthermore, all the commands are sent by the terminal and all the responses of the SIM card are sent by the terminal. This leads to substantial congestion in the connection between the terminal and the module. This also leads to substantial activity for a microprocessor of the terminal linked to the management of the SIM card.
These problems are even more acute in the case of the SIM toolkit card. Indeed, the SIM card is then capable of producing commands that have to be executed either by the GSM module or by the terminal or by both. In the prior art, when the SIM toolkit card sends a command that has to be executed by the GSM module, this command is initially received and decoded by the terminal. The terminal receives this command through the connection that connects it to the GSM module. Then the terminal detects the fact that this command is not addressed to it and sends it back by the same connection to the GSM module so that it carries it out. If the execution of this command calls for a response, this response will be first of all sent to the terminal which will send it to the SIM toolkit card. In this specific instance, there is therefore a large quantity of data that flows on the connection between the terminal and the GSM module, and a substantial quantity of information processed by a microprocessor of the terminal.
Furthermore, in the prior art, a SIM toolkit card does not spontaneously send responses. In fact, the SIM toolkit card is subjected to a polling command at regular intervals. The SIM toolkit card responds to this command by a code which states whether or not it wishes to send a command. If it wishes to send a command, it reports this in its response to the polling command. It will then receive a FETCH command in response to which it will be able to send its proactive command. In the prior art, the polling and FETCH commands are sent by the terminal. These commands therefore flow on the connection between the terminal and the GSM module. All these commands are thus managed by the microprocessor of the terminal. The activity of the terminal and the congestion in the connection between the terminal and the GSM module is therefore great, partly because of the simple management of the SIM card or SIM toolkit card. This means that there is great activity in the microprocessor and therefore high energy consumption and, therefore, ultimately a reduction of the autonomy of the terminal.
In the invention, these problems are resolved by transferring the management of the standard SIM card into the GSM module and distributing the management of the SIM toolkit card between the GSM module and the terminal to which the module is connected. In particular, the messages sent by the SIM toolkit card are filtered in the GSM module so that only those truly of interest to the terminal are sent to it. Similarly, the polling of the SIM toolkit card is carried out by the GSM module. Thus, the quantity of information flowing in the connection between the GSM module and the terminal is limited. The activity of a microprocessor too is limited. Indeed, all that this microprocessor has to do thereafter is to process messages directly related to the terminal and its capacities, for example a man/machine interface.
An object of the invention therefore is a method for management of a communications module comprising means to fulfil a communications function, and a detachable microcircuit for a terminal comprising means, including a microprocessor, to set up a man/machine interface in which the microcircuit and the terminal communicate by sending messages through a module-terminal connection between the module and the terminal, wherein:                messages are sent from the microcircuit to the terminal,        in the module, messages sent by the microcircuit are distributed between the module and the terminal to limit the communications on the module-terminal connection and to limit an activity, related to a processing of a message, of the microprocessor of the terminal.        